Schomberg in some secret fashion. Heyst expressed his thanks in a few
simple words, set off by his manner of finished courtesy. Davidson
prepared to depart. They were not looking at each other. Suddenly Heyst
spoke:
"You understand that this was a case of odious persecution, don't you? I
became aware of it and--"
It was a view which the sympathetic Davidson was capable of
appreciating.
"I am not surprised to hear it," he said placidly. "Odious enough, I
dare say. And you, of course--not being a married man--were free to step
in. Ah, well!"
He sat down in the stern-sheets, and already had the steering lines in
his hands when Heyst observed abruptly:
"The world is a bad dog. It will bite you if you give it a chance; but I
think that here we can safely defy the fates."
When relating all this to me, Davidson's only comment was:
"Funny notion of defying the fates--to take a woman in tow!"
CHAPTER SEVEN
Some considerable time afterwards--we did not meet very often--I asked
Davidson how he had managed about the shawl and heard that he had
tackled his mission in a direct way, and had found it easy enough. At
the very first call he made in Samarang he rolled the shawl as tightly
as he could into the smallest possible brown-paper parcel, which he
carried ashore with him. His business in the town being transacted,
he got into a gharry with the parcel and drove to the hotel.
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